The book proposes a hermeneutical theory which uses modern approaches to literary texts for the exegesis of biblical narratives. This theory is then applied to the exegesis of Genesis 21:1-21, and involves the evaluation of the New Criticism, rhetorical criticism, structuralism and narrative analysis, reader-response criticism, the historical-critical method, as well as deconstruction. To satisfy the postulate of pluralism in interpretation, the theory draws upon a variety of ancient and modern sources such as Aristotle, T. S. Eliot, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Paul Ricœur.